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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2002-04 > 1019433754


From: Pat Thomas <>
Subject: Re: [Scotch-Irish] moving
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 19:04:53 -0500


From a family letter written during the early exodus of this Scotch-Irish Presbyterian family from Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania to the county line area of Warren and Mercer County, Illinois. The area they left, the Ridges had less population in 1900 than it did in 1850. This letter was written about 1852.


" If anything should turn up that I do not get the place where John lives I will not stay longer on the Ridge than next spring or fall, a year and when I go then I will go to Illinois and you cannot believe how glad I am you left when you did, not that it was any advantage to me for it was a loss both in pleasure and money, first being so far apart and secondly in having to buy so many things when you left. But what makes me glad is that you are where you can get something for your labour but as the place is not your own and not likely to be if John Porter finds the west to be the Elysium he now represents it to be when he fairly tries it once had we not better go there too and if we do and can make it suit will settle close together. As for leaving the neighbors on the Ridges, I have few tears to shed. We have had no difficulty with any of them but standing in the shade, I have been looking out on some of them of late. Samuel T. Brown offered to teach !
our school for twenty dollars per month and I told J. Boggs, G. Postlethwait and one or two more who liked the motion so we put up notices for a meeting and at the meeting Mr. Postlethwait, J. Knepp & myself were Elected. Postlethwait and I determined at once to take Sam. at his terms but David L Andrak and P. Morrison are all rubbing Jake's p-k to make him stiff and they must have Dolphush ? at 18 per month but one John and I have determined to let them do their biggest talk and then we will do as we please to the great delight of James and Nancy Boggs and some others that want a good school. Their chief objection to Samuel is that the Porters want too much money and poor Sam is half Porter.
If Uncle John Porter, James Boggs and Robert Wray would come along with James Wray and Postlethwait who talk of going to the west, there would not be another neighbor that I would wish to leave this country. The Ridges is as good as the best of them. Remember I don't mean the women > for there is old Mrs. Campbell and some more who are better than gold. My tan and old black sow that I got from R. Wray got into J. Sloan's corn in old Henry's field and got me murmured to 4 or 5 times but for all that John is as good a man as most of my neighbors and not half such a ewe as Jake Knopp because he don't let his wife make an ass of him and she has more sense than to do so if he wanted her to and no doubt he often does."

They settled that part of Illinois so heavily that there are still thriving Presbyterian churches in every small town and in between.



Pat Thomas
1335 Lakeview Avenue
Winona, Minnesota 55987
1-507-452-8290
mailto:
or if bouncing
mailto:

Knox County, Illinois USGENWEB Assistant CC
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilknox/knindex.htm


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